soarfeet: Thanks for the link, pretty cool website. I just read their article on how to tie shoes during a marathon and realized I've been doing it wrong.

dankelley: Nice mileage in the brutal heat last week! Those near heat exhaustion experiences are scary, I had one two weeks ago, getting goosebumps in the 95 afternoon. I did make two tweaks to 12/55, since I wanted to keep up my cross-training and keep the running at 5 days, I decided to experiment this cycle by adding more quality - 1) running MP miles each week, either in the MLR or LR and 2) using the LRs from the last 12 weeks of 18/55 so that I'd get three 20 milers in a 12-week cycle. Not sure any of it will help race day without adding the volume, but I hope to at least have more confidence with more MP miles under the belt. Sounds like we'll both be targeting the 3:05 BQ-5 at LV, let me know if you'd like to strategize as we get closer.

dankelley: Nice mileage in the brutal heat last week! Those near heat exhaustion experiences are scary, I had one two weeks ago, getting goosebumps in the 95 afternoon. I did make two tweaks to 12/55, since I wanted to keep up my cross-training and keep the running at 5 days, I decided to experiment this cycle by adding more quality - 1) running MP miles each week, either in the MLR or LR and 2) using the LRs from the last 12 weeks of 18/55 so that I'd get three 20 milers in a 12-week cycle. Not sure any of it will help race day without adding the volume, but I hope to at least have more confidence with more MP miles under the belt. Sounds like we'll both be targeting the 3:05 BQ-5 at LV, let me know if you'd like to strategize as we get closer.

Ahh yes, I remember you explaining your 12/55 modifications here before. Apologies for making you repeat yourself. It continues to be interesting to me that you're tilting towards quality and lower volume, and I'm doing precisely the opposite - it's like A/B testing meeting distance running. Or maybe we'll run identical times with totally different training methods, who knows

I'm not sure yet what I'll be targeting for LV, but I agree that there's not much of a point of aiming for anything less than BQ-5 / < 3:05. I've been putting all of my planning eggs into the basket of the HM I was planning on running on August 3rd ... which is full, and I'm an idiot, and I hadn't signed up for it. Sigh. I was going to aim for 6:35 pace there, and if I had hit that, I'd feel OK aiming for something like 3:02 in the FM.

Had to fight off the demons today who were whispering in my ear...your tired...its hot...do the workout tommorrow....finally beat them back and told myself just go to the damned track and run the workout!...2mile warmup + 4x30sec strides...and I still wasn't feelin' it...but I toed the line to run the first interval...workout called for 3x1mile at 6-6:10...with 400 recoveries...despite not feelin' great I rolled through @ 6:10,6:10,6:00 ...+ 1mile cooldown for a total of 7...Pretty pleased overall....but I definitely need the rest day tommorrow.

...workout called for 3x1mile at 6-6:10...with 400 recoveries...despite not feelin' great I rolled through @ 6:10,6:10,6:00 ...

Nice job. I didn't see specific workouts in the hansons plan that I downloaded - just "speed" and "strength" days - but found some details after searching online. I also did mile repeats this week. I had been doing mostly 5k paced repeats for the last couple months, but with the temps and increased mileage I went with 10K pace for this workout and added an extra rep. I went 6:20, 6:14, 6:16, 6:10 with 400 recovery and it felt great.

On Sunday I did my marathon tempo. I have been running these on the track lately, but I decided to run this one on a hilly course that I've done a couple of times before. I did the run by feel and then checked splits afterwards - they were all over the place, maybe to be expected with 1500 ft of elevation gain over the course. Overall average was 6:55 for tempo portion so I was happy with that, but I have to say it felt like I was working harder than marathon effort.

...workout called for 3x1mile at 6-6:10...with 400 recoveries...despite not feelin' great I rolled through @ 6:10,6:10,6:00 ...

Nice job. I didn't see specific workouts in the hansons plan that I downloaded - just "speed" and "strength" days - but found some details after searching online. I also did mile repeats this week. I had been doing mostly 5k paced repeats for the last couple months, but with the temps and increased mileage I went with 10K pace for this workout and added an extra rep. I went 6:20, 6:14, 6:16, 6:10 with 400 recovery and it felt great.

Hey There Portlander and Thanks!....Good work on your end too....FYI the paces are spelled out in the book...Hansons Marathon Method...essentially it boils down to Speed = 5k; Strenght = 10k, Tempo = Mpace, and Easy/Recovery is 1-2min above Mpace...

Hey SoarFeet - what does your plan have for speedwork this week? I was thinking 12x400 @ 5K pace. With 3 speed sessions left in the plan I figured I would hit 400s, 800s and miles one more time each.

Howdy Portlander....this week was 3x1mile on Tuesday...7miles of tempo tonite...which I knocked off at 7:02 avg (7:32,7:18,6:50,7:10,6:50,6:51,6:45) + 1mile jog cooldown...it was a beautiful cool evening...the balance of speed workouts in the plan over the next three weeks are 6x800, 3x1mi, and 6x800 again....but I think you can do any interval you wish really as long as you do them at pace and they work volume is 3miles.....so your idea sound fine!

hey DanKelley i'll be in Meredith on vacation from Aug 14-18. Let me know if you want to meet up for some runs. I have a 20 miler planned that weekend. I know there is a small around part of the lake. I was hoping it was long and I could do my 20 miler on that (hoping it's flat too). I've ran in Milford (?) a bunch in the past, I found a flat 3 mile loop that I do over and over and over again there sometimes. But this trip i'll be in Meredith.

Howdy Portlander....this week was 3x1mile on Tuesday...7miles of tempo tonite...which I knocked off at 7:02 avg (7:32,7:18,6:50,7:10,6:50,6:51,6:45) + 1mile jog cooldown...it was a beautiful cool evening...the balance of speed workouts in the plan over the next three weeks are 6x800, 3x1mi, and 6x800 again....but I think you can do any interval you wish really as long as you do them at pace and they work volume is 3miles.....so your idea sound fine!

Should have seen that coming...400s wouldn't be too specific for the marathon I guess. I might target 1000s for today, may change my mind depending on the temps when I get to the track at 3:00pm.

My Pfitz week 5 was ok in general, just the MP long run was not so good (I just come back from it): Even though I started quite early in the morning it became hotter and hotter. I slowed down in the MP part and I decided after 7 mi to run the rest easily. I did the full distance but 3 mi @ MP are missing. As it was really exhausting I think it was the right decision (but of course don´t know if it would have been better without the heat). This was the only run in the first 5 weeks I failed / missed the pace but at least I did the full distance in all workouts up to now. Tempo run was really good, no problems.

Next week is a recovery week and on Saturday I´m leaving for vacation, three weeks in the hot south of Spain. I´m a bit scared because these are three really hard weeks in the Pfitz plan and I would also like to have an "easy" vacation with my family. There might be a kind of conflict of interests...

SoarFeet: Welcome here !

dankelley: For me it´s a long way to go till the taper... I totally feel with you on your "Friday debacle", look, almost the same happened to me today...

Looking forward to read what you did this week and wish you all a great new running week !

Hi all, I found this community a week or so ago, and now finally got around to sign up. My current marathon PR is 3:13, and I hope to improve on that time on at least one of two attempts during this summer/autumn; Helsinki on August 17th or Lausanne on October 27th. Right now, I'm out injured unfortunately, but after a doctor's appointment on Friday I got a green light to go ahead and easily feel around wether my calf can handle running ago. I've been out for just over a week, so not too much harm done I guess

These marathons will be my 5th and 6th. The last one was in Paris in April, where I finished at 3:17, not shabby at all considering I had only run 3 times a week during the entire winter (running in Finland is quite hard, especially mentally, during that period), but after a solid summer especially (was out with flu for almost an entire month some time after my Paris race) I definitely think I could break the 3:10 goal, if not in Helsinki then at least in Lausanne.

I haven't been following any particular training programme other than my own know-how up until now, but I noticed that a lot of you guys seem to be following the Pfitz-programme. I checked out the website, and I really liked what I saw, so I am seriously considering going for it. A question for you all to answer is thus; do you recommend the Advanced Marathoning book? Does it contain lots of good information apart from the actual training programmes as well?

That's it from me for now, I'm really looking forward to get more insight into fellow marathoner's training strategies and routines, and of course, results when race-day comes!

W - Vo2max - 10 w/ 5x1k (1:30 recovery) - 6:08,6:06,6:04,6:02,6:00 pace - first vo2max session of my program, I was hoping to hit them sub 6 pace but really wanted to run each 1k faster than the previous which worked

Was generally happy with the week. I celebrated the big 3-6 birthday on Thursday by zoning out to my podcasts and tripping on the uneven sidewalk. A passer-by said it looked like a belly flop but without the pool. Nothing serious, just some annoying cuts on the knees/elbows and a bruise right on the hip bone. I was able to run the 17 pain-free by Saturday. The weird thing is, looking at my running log, I fell like this exactly 6 weeks before my first marathon. I guess it's just something I do.

SoarFeet: whoa, 8 lbs in 2 hrs? were you taking in fluids/electrolytes?

..LOL....my nutrition/hydration plan was non-existent today....some cytomax before I left....1 powergel and about 4oz of gatorade G2 at the halfway mark....I learned alot about hydration, electrolytes, & nutrition in my Ironman training & execution....but with the weather so warm/hot....I can't stand having stuff hangin on my body...so running shirtless nowhere to put stuff...and I don't do handhelds...I have a better route that has at least a couple of available water stops and a conveninece store...and probably should have taken that today....

So I guess you guys recap your weeks on this thread...so for me...wrapped up week 7(?) of Hansons Advanced Plan

Patrick - thanks again for the roster. I'm started to let myself get excited about NYC, now that I'm in full-fledged recovery mode.

Station42 - Humidity sucks, and you're not exactly going to the desert on 3 weeks of vacation. But ... 3 weeks of vacation! Good for you, and your family. I'm sure you'll figure out the running. Just be careful. Those European streets/sidewalks can be a little bumpy ...

mkerikss (OK, at a loss what that stands for ...) - Welcome! Sorry about your injury man. I'm coming back from a serious one, one that had me sidelined with no running for 8 weeks. It happened 10 weeks ago, so I'm clawing back. Great success you had in Paris; congrats. Neat that Helsinki has a marathon when many of us are struggling with running even 5 miles because of heat!

SoarFeet - 8 pounds -- WOW! I lost six during a Boston training run -- amazing isn't it? Congrats on an awesome week for you, and glad you're here.

Thomas - strong week, impressed! Wednesday's workout looks like a great challenge Happy birthday, and I'm glad your fall wasn't too bad! I've tripped on a sidewalk only once, and ended up with a bloody hand. Not a huge deal, but realized it could've been a lot worse!

My week is that of a runner in recovery, but I'm pleased with my progress and also my discipline to the 10% rule and cross-training:

Monday: 30 minutes of swimming; core work and weightsTuesday: 5 miles at 8:08 pace

soarfeet: Today's humidity snuck up on me too. I wouldn't feel at all bad about 8:15 pace. 8lbs in in 2 hours is crazypants. Nice job hitting a volume high!

portlander: Bold move doing the GMP run someplace hilly 1500ft of vertical change (I assume you mean change and not gain, otherwise you were running uphill continuously for 1.5 hours, and I should be even more impressed) in a 10mi run is no joke! FWIW, my experience from my spring cycle is that the GMP runs were brutally hard. On the plus side, post-taper, I ended up running at a pace 15s better than what I was training for. I'm a big believer that gutting out the LT and GMP runs is what makes you strong for race day.

brent: Not sure I'm going to be in NH that weekend (I live in MA, but visit my folks in Meredith many weekends). I'll holler when I know what we're doing that weekend. I end up doing all of my runs up that way on Meredith Neck (look for Eaton road / Spindle Point on a map). Flat is not a feature I've found anywhere on the Neck

station: 1 failure per 5 weeks sounds like it's well within the margin of error. You're right to not sweat it. The Pfitz recovery weeks are wonderful - you'll almost feel human by the time you have to jump back into the meat grinder. I know what you mean about vacations and family. I usually end up going to bed with the kids and doing the running as early as I can stomach. Good luck on not getting heat stroke, and be sure to eat tons. I totally want to do an eating vacation in Spain at some point.

mkerikss: Welcome! I complain about running in the winter, but I'm sure where I live (NE US) the winters pale in comparison to what you're dealing with. Your 10K time shows that you have the speed to break 3:10 in the FM, so mileage is likely the key for you. What kind of weekly mileage (kilometerage?) have you been running? Also, you should definitely buy the Pfitz book. It's excellent. If it's not nerdy enough for you, also consider the Daniels book.

thomas: Great work on the GMP run, and on the vo2max effort. That's a lot of quality for a 3 day span. I'm curious about your LR pace, though: you seem to get these done at ~30s above GMP. That doesn't take too much out of you? Are some of those miles at GMP too, or are you getting there with consistent pacing? Sorry to hear about the scrapes, but I can totally relate to the process of getting some minor injury, then instantly focusing on how it'll affect my next run.

steve: Hooray for the comeback trail! It's great to see you back at it. Personally, I wouldn't get too rigid about the 10% rule, but I would be really careful about pace. You've been doing lots of XT, so in your shoes, I'll slow things down a bunch, but aim for ~25mpw for 3 weeks, then step up from there. If you read Daniels on the 10% thing, he does say that it's about increasing off a stable base, and notes that he has different rules for coming back from injury.

On the plus side, the week started off well with a good tempo - I was happy to have the faster miles at the back end, and I'm about 15s/mile faster at these now than I was in the spring. Wednesday and Thursday were the first cool mornings since early June, and it was good to see the paces come down accordingly. I don't want to make too much of it, but it was encouraging to see my AHR for those 2 runs be at ~145, as I would see that at 8:45-9 as recently as 5-6 months ago.

On Friday, I got to do an thing that I'd wanted to do for a while: run to work. I live about ~15mi away, but I'd never managed to get it together as I've not been willing to run both ways. I had a ride arranged, so I gave it a shot. It rained most of the way, but it worked out great.

Saturday I had my first URD in this training stretch, but for a good reason, as I was hosting some friends. We swam, went for a boat ride, drank great wine, cooked outside, drank some more wine, and had a great time. I couldn't find a place to get a run in, but so be it. Came back with a bit less than 18 today. That was a bit of a struggle, but it's been 6 weeks since I've had 2 rest days in the span of 3 days, so it's probably all to the good.

station: 1 failure per 5 weeks sounds like it's well within the margin of error. You're right to not sweat it. The Pfitz recovery weeks are wonderful - you'll almost feel human by the time you have to jump back into the meat grinder. I know what you mean about vacations and family. I usually end up going to bed with the kids and doing the running as early as I can stomach. Good luck on not getting heat stroke, and be sure to eat tons. I totally want to do an eating vacation in Spain at some point.

Yes, the recovery week is coming to the right time now. I´m glad how the first 5 weeks went but I feel after this week the game just starts. Only way to run in Spain is very early in the morning, but as you normally go to bed very lately (the kids, too) and it doesn´t cool down, it might be tough, some runs with almost no sleep - but I hope a good and siesta in the afternoon will catch it up. I´m used to the Spanish heat, I´m there for 18 years already every summer, but I never had to do such a demanding training plan.

You really had a good week, so I think the Saturday is not a "FAIL", you should see the whole week and that´s fine !

W - Vo2max - 10 w/ 5x1k (1:30 recovery) - 6:08,6:06,6:04,6:02,6:00 pace - first vo2max session of my program, I was hoping to hit them sub 6 pace but really wanted to run each 1k faster than the previous which worked

Was generally happy with the week. I celebrated the big 3-6 birthday on Thursday by zoning out to my podcasts and tripping on the uneven sidewalk. A passer-by said it looked like a belly flop but without the pool. Nothing serious, just some annoying cuts on the knees/elbows and a bruise right on the hip bone. I was able to run the 17 pain-free by Saturday. The weird thing is, looking at my running log, I fell like this exactly 6 weeks before my first marathon. I guess it's just something I do.

Station42 - Humidity sucks, and you're not exactly going to the desert on 3 weeks of vacation. But ... 3 weeks of vacation! Good for you, and your family. I'm sure you'll figure out the running. Just be careful. Those European streets/sidewalks can be a little bumpy ...

Monday: 30 minutes of swimming; core work and weightsTuesday: 5 miles at 8:08 pace

I felt strangely refreshed during last night's run, so I hope that means my body has adapted to 80mpw and the miles get just a tad easier/speedier.

Regarding the treadmill, I don't seem to mind it as much as others do. I enjoy punching in my pace on Mondays and gradually ramping it up. My pace fluctuates a lot on the road, but I can concentrate on holding a pace and keeping form on the treadmill. That said, the mileage is easier on the treadmill and the mechanics are different, so I was glad to get back outside.

mkerikss – Welcome! I'll add you to the roster. By the way, we both ran Paris this year – though I can't imagine running a 3:17 after training just three times a week. Wow. Looking forward to seeing what a Pfitz program can do for you…

Arunnerd – Hope you enjoyed running in DC. I live in Richmond, but take any excuse to go up on weekends to run long runs in Rock Creek Park and the Capital Crescent Trail. Awesome.

Thomas2507 - Happy birthday! I took a nice spill last summer on a run. One of my shoelaces had a big loop. Somehow, my other foot went thru the loop so when I tried to lift the foot up, I was being held down by my opposite foot that was going thru the shoelace loop. I wound up taking a pretty solid spill with cuts on my elbow and back. Still have a pretty cool looking scare from that one. Glad you are alright, though.

SoarFeet - I've learned a lot in the past that I simply can't run well if i don't hydrate. I can't do handhelds, either, so I usually wind up driving the course and dropping off some water. My favorite course is a 6-mile loop that I can throw 2-3 waters out on.

SteveInMinn - Glad to hear you are pleased with your progress... coming back from an injury is a grind. It takes a lot of discipline and motivation to do it the right way.

DanKelley - I've wanted to run to work before, but I'm 21.5 miles away from work and it's almost entirely on a highway. Solid mileage off of 5 days of running

Station42 - 3 weeks of vacation?!? That sounds phenomenal! Enjoy...

Patrick25905 - I just got done with an 18-miler on the treadmill this past weekend, so I definitely don't mind it as much as most do.

Me:

M - 8 miles w/ 3x1 mile at 6:15

T - AM 3 easy - PM 10

W - 6

T - 12.5 miles - 2 mi wu - 6 mile MP (last 3 felt like crap)

F - 4.5 mi easy

S - 3 miles easy

S - 18 mile long run on the TM (because my back was acting up a bit and was hoping to get in some work w/o pounding of going outside)

Total - 65 miles

This was my longest week I've done since a marathon training cycle the last time I ran a full 8-9 years ago.

mkerikss...welcome. I can't comment from experience, but the Pfitz plans are very popular around here and I don't think you can go wrong with them.

station...vacation!

thomas...that is an impressive long run. did you do the whole thing at 7:34 pace or make it progressive? you fit a lot of quality runs into your week, I think I would crack trying to run that schedule.

dan...66 miles in just 5 days? i'm sure that day off won't have any effect on your training (other than positive).

brent...that's a good looking week - I like how you sneak in a double on tuesday. do the same next week and get strong.

soarfeet...looks like I'm a few days behind you, I will run my 15 on Wed and I don't expect to lose 8 pounds! You really didn't fade that badly considering the dehydration.

The long run on Wednesday took a lot out of me. I tried an extra long warmup for Friday's intervals but I could tell from the first step that I was done. I managed 2x1000 (3:48, 3:42) and then called it. The sunday tempo run was great, though. I did it on the track and felt smooth the whole way. I will say that my body is still getting used to these 10 mile+ runs. I really start to get some ached in the feet, knees, lower back from the pounding.

I will hit 230 miles in July. It's my biggest month of the year by 60 miles. I'm going to take it very easy this next week for recovery.

Thanks for the warm welcome guys! Wow, reading about your training really makes me want to push on and get more training done. Some of you are doing incredible amounts of training! I have great respect for the discipline and spirit that's surely needed to keep you going.

SteveInMinn - Thanks! Gutted for you though, 8 weeks without running can't have been easy. Good luck with your recovery! Well, it could still be hot in Helsinki, 25 C or 77 F is not out of the question, although it would require some bad luck (or luck from the POV of non-runners spending their vacation here).

dankelley - Yeah, sometimes you just freeze your butt off, that's for sure. I was at about 75 km, so slightly less than 50 miles I guess, before I got injured. I hadn't kept that milage for more than a few weeks though, so I was about to slowly increase it. Not much compared to many of you, however, I do some cross-training as well.

Patrick - Thanks! Cool, I actually loved that marathon! A beautiful course, flat, fast and wide streets... Well, I did have a good base from the autumn when I had run a lot more before Lausanne marathon the last weekend of October, so I just tried to keep my endurance as close to that as possible, although I knew of course that I wasn't going to be completely succesful. Also, I had so many other things going on in life that I had to re-prioritize a little. I had set myself a 3:20 goal for Paris, so was satisfied with the result.

Good news from my side; I finsihed a really slow (didn't know I was even capable of running that slowly ) 5 km test run on Monday with no harm done to the calf, and today I increased both speed and distance somewhat, and got through the whole 9 km. I still want to be careful though, and think I will stay clear of any quality training before my marathon on the 17th just to be safe.

mkerikss - Belated welcome. +1 on caution with the calf injury. I spent months recovering from a calf injury last year and at no point did it seem "bad". Simply took a long time to fully recover. I was in Finland a few years ago -- beautiful. Looked like everyone there was fit and trails were abundant.

I got in 66 last week on vacation, all easy. Thoroughly enjoyed running in DC and then spent a day in Atlanta and ran 18 on the Silver Comet Trail. Second time running there, very nice, will repeat every chance I get.

Sorry for the absence and late weekly update. I have been skimming the updates - nice job to all and welcome to the new folks. Got to Florida Saturday for a 2 week vacation! Hot down here. 80+ at 6am, but I suppose I am used to it. I am in week 5 of Pfitz 18/70. Working hard with it but feeling very good.

The heat moderated a bit last week in NYC. My week was as follows:

Mon - 14 MLR @ 8:17

Tues - 5 easy

Wed - 11 Gen Aerobic @ 8:33

Thurs - 5 easy @ 9:04

Fri - 18 LR @ 8:18

Sat - Off

Sun - 9 with 5 LT @ 6:35 pace (in Florida)

Total - 62

A solid week with most all of the runs feeling very strong yet relaxed. No hills down here in south Florida, which partially makes up for the heat.

Anyway, I will probably be sparse on this forum for the next week or so. Enjoying my early morning runs and then beach, pool, etc with the family. Pretty much falling asleep each night at 9:30 (which I do at home anyway!

All: thanks for the encouragement about the missed day. It's more of a psychological than a physiological thing, I'm sure. I'm working on making amends this week anyways

mkerikss: If you've hit 50mpw before, you'll do OK on 18/55 so long as you stay healthy. The best advice I have for you is to make sure that you plan your paces _before_ you start the plan, then make sure that you actually do the runs at those paces. The first 3-4 weeks will seem really easy, but the quality will catch up to you fast.

arunnerd: Everyone in the EU always looks fit compared to americans

lawrence: That's an extremely impressive week for FL! I was at Disney in mid-June, and I quite literally couldn't hack more than 8mi at a snail's pace. I'm pretty sure I would have stroked out if I had attempted 5mi @ 6:35. Great work! I can totally understand the asleep at 9:30pm thing - I get made fun of constantly by my wife for falling over about 45m after our kids are done. Enjoy the rest of the vacation.

I don't have too much time to address everyone as my lunch break is almost over, but I haven't checked in for a while so I thought I'd drop in.

Welcome to mkerikss!

Brent: I did the same thing with tripping over the shoelace a couple of years back. It is amazing how fast you are on the ground.

Everyone is killing it! We are all dealing with the tough weather conditions but it will get better...

I came down with a bad cough a week and a half ago, and actually was bent over coughing during a run and thought I was going to hurl. As a result, I only ran about 35 miles last week but did get in a strong 16 on Saturday. I completely took Sunday through Tuesday off thus ending my streak around 80 days (I haven't added it up yet) but I thought at this point it would be best to get healthy. I managed 10.75 yesterday and 8.5 today and the cough is much better. It came on all of a sudden and didn't start as a head cold as so often happens.

With the days off earlier this week, I'll probably only hit 50-55 miles this week but will be right back by the time next week rolls around.

ARunnerd - Thanks! Fortunately it does seem as if the worst is behind me with regards to my injury. Finished a 5.6 @ 7:15 (I'll start to use miles and mile paces for convenience) with no problems whatsoever, and as opposed to my previous test runs, I felt quite confident throughout the entire run. Actually, I think you're in a way quite right about the level of fitness in Finland. At least in Helsinki running seems to be more popular than any other place I've ever visited.

Dan - Thanks for the advice! I ordered the Pfitzinger book yesterday, along with the Daniel's running formula (as an engineering student, I just had to have it as soon as I saw the word formula in the title &nbsp, as well as"The new rule of marathon and half-marathon nutrition" by Matt Fitzgerald. They'll arive in a couple of weeks, so as soon as I have recovered from Helsinki marathon I can get going with the Pfitz program.

Tempo run last nite...a little less than expected....I I expected a faster result because it had been rainy and overcast...sorta thought "cool" but the air was so heavy 100% humidity...really made it harder than it needed to be...I was drenched by the end of my warmup....9 miles total for me...2miles warmup @ 7:32's...then 6miles @ 7 avg. (6:56-7:06)...and one mile cooldwon...but I will say..I am finally "finding" that tempo gear...and when I find it and the rythm...I seem to be able to settle into it for 2,3, 5 miles...kinda get it now...

One of the things about the Hanson plan is the discipline to learn to run/control different paces...I have often tended to run "free form"...but success in their plan really requires you learn Mpace...so I can run middling 7:20-30 no brainer....and I can run short and hard 6-6:10 ...no brainer.....but learning to run hard in-between as a controlled, no brainer pace....is tough..

SoarFeet: I agree that one of the best parts of doing a structured plan for the first time is getting used to paces.

I'm now in the midst of a fun adventure. I started getting cramps, or what I thought were cramps, on the left side of my chest while running last week. Over my last 7 runs they've shown up more predictably, always starting within 2-3 minutes of the start of the run. They usually become less noticeable as the run progresses, but they've been getting worse.

I went to the doc this morning and got an EKG. That showed that I have an irregular heartbeat, which the doc claimed was usual for endurance-trained people. I now get to go do a stress echo cardiogram next week to rule out any real problems. In the meanwhile, any of the rest of you have any weirdness around irregular heartbeats or chest cramps and have it turn out to be benign? I asked the doc if there were any non-scary explanations for what I've been feeling, and she didn't have great answers.

Dan, hmm, sorry. Is that the first EKG you've had? I had one taken about eight years ago when the doc found out I was a runner -- and because I have a heart murmur. I haven't had one since. But he wanted to get a baseline. He also told me: "the one thing you're not dying from is a heart attack." He did not say that with respect to cancer, which both my parents had (they've both died, my mom from cancer).

Last time I was at the doc, after Boston but before my foot injury, he didn't say a word about my heart murmur or any concerns with my running. We spent most of the time chatting about how he could do better in his half-marathons.

In more direct answer to your question, I've certainly had a variety of cramps and various weirdness in my chest area and side during running, but like you, it goes away. I've always thought it was muscular, and not cardio-related.